The 1987 Donruss baseball card set is one of the most iconic issues from the late 1980s. Not only did it feature some true legends of the game like Pete Rose, Tom Seaver, and Mike Schmidt, but it also had many stars who were just entering their primes like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Greg Maddux. The photography and design of the 1987 Donruss set is also very recognizable from that era with players having their names stacked vertically on the left side of the card.
When it comes to the values of the 1987 Donruss baseball cards, there is one rating service that is the undisputed authority – Professional Sports Authenticator, more commonly known as PSA. PSA is the largest and most trusted third-party grading service for collectibles like sports cards. They take raw cards, analyze them closely for any flaws, creases, centering issues or damage and assign a numerical grade of 1 to 10 based on the card’s condition with 10 being gem mint. This grading gives collectors a standardized way to understand the condition and value of their cards.
Looking through the most recent PSA Pop Report, which details census population numbers and values for PSA graded cards, it’s clear that condition is critical to 1987 Donruss card prices. Only a handful of specimens have achieved the coveted PSA 10 gem mint rating. The all-time greats like Tom Seaver, Mike Schmidt, and Ozzie Smith have PSA 10 populations in the single digits, while stars like Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Greg Maddux have low double digit PSA 10 counts. This extreme rarity drives prices into the thousands for a True Gem 1987 Donruss issue in top condition.
Moving down the grading scale, PSA 9’s (mint) become more abundant but still trade for hundreds to low thousands depending on the specific player and level of demand. The 1987 Donruss set had some star rookies like Barry Larkin and Tim Wakefield who have PSA 9 populations under 100 copies. This maintains strong 4-figure values for their top-graded rookie cards. PSA 8’s (very fine-mint) represent the bulk of the populations for superstars and are where most collectors can realistically expect to find their cards if buying raw from the secondary market. Graded examples in this condition typically sell for hundreds.
PSA 7’s (fine-very fine) start becoming plentiful for most stars but prices tail off sharply, generally in the $50-150 range according to the PSA price guide data. Moving to PSA 6’s (fine) means values are often under $100 except for the true legend cards in demand like Mike Schmidt who cracks $200 in a PSA 6. Anything graded lower than a PSA 6 starts being collection/charityraw for most players as structured demand falls off a cliff. Even common PSA 5’s can hold $10-30 values purely due to nostalgia and the set completion aspect of 1987 Donruss.
While the raw material prices of 1987 Donruss wax packs and boxes have skyrocketted in recent years due to speculators and investors, this does not always reflect the underlying values of the individual graded cards. Savvy collectors focus mainly on PSA population reports to understand true scarcity and secondary market prices. For example, even though a sealed 1987 Donruss box can fetch thousands, the expected return by cracking packs and submitting singles to PSA will often leave you losing money versus simply buying what you want already graded. Understanding grade distributions is paramount for smart collecting and investing in iconic 1980s sets like 1987 Donruss.
